Spiral binder applying machine



April 1968 c. OSTERMEIER 3,378,046

SPIRAL BINDER APPLYING MACHINE Filed March 17. 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 A Q{wi l 'fi. I I R1 l 8 f I I INVENTOR. 1 $84115 d5Z Cfm Z r Frro z? r73April 15, 1953 c. OSTERMEIER I 3,378,046

SPIRAL BINDER APPLYING MACHINE Filed March 17, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 2$7211? 4211 Cycle 60 712 72 1 6772212 Z INVENTOR.

(24215 I d germez'er April 16, 1968 c. OSTERMEIER 3,378,046

SPIRAL BINDER APPLYING MACHINE Filed March 17, 1966 4 Sheets-SheetINVENTOR. 37 (Z62 2/5 a'z ermez'er April 1968 c. OSTERMEIER 3,378,046

SPIRAL BINDER APPLYING MACHINE Filed March 17, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 if'INVENTOR.

57-7-0 PA/E' 1 5,

United States Patent 3,378,046 SPIRAL BINDER APPLYFJG MAEHINE ClausOstermeier, Fast Geisenfeld, Upper Bavaria, Germany, assignor to HansSicidnger (10., West Bloomfield Township, Mich, a corporation ofMichigan Filed Mar. 17, i966, Ser. No. 535,154 8 Claims. (ill. 14ti2.94)

This invention relates to spiral binder applying machines, and moreparticularly to machines for inserting spiral wire binders in packs ofsheets and covers having perforated edges.

It is an object of the invention to provide a novel and improved machineof this type which will securely hold the pack of sheets and coversalong the perforated areas in which the binder is being inserted, sothat accuracy and reliability of the binder insertion process will beassured.

It is another object to provide a novel and improved machine of thischaracter which has a greatly simplified loading and unloadingarrangement and can be operated at a much faster rate than previousmachines of this type.

It is a further object to provide an improved machine of this naturewhich is of simplified construction, requires relatively littlemaintenance and is easily adjustable for various sizes of spiralbinders.

It is another object to provide an improved apparatus of this characterin which the feed and cycle control are automatically governed by theposition of the spiral binder itself.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the subsequent description and the appended claims,taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational perspective view showing the apparatusof this invention, the forward guide roller support being in itsretracted position;

FIGURE 2. is a cross-sectional view in elevation taken along the line 22of FIGURE 1 but showing the forward guide roller support in its clampingposition;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the manner in whichthe spiral wire is guided by the rear guide roller support;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the forward portion of themachine showing the manner in which the top guide member is supported;

FIGURE 5 is an elevational view of the forward guide roller support,showing the slots for guiding the spiral wire;

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of this support;

FIGURE 7 is a top plan view of the rear guide roller support;

FIGURE 8 is an elevational view of a portion of the rear guide rollersupport taken in the direction of the arrow 8 0f FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a side elevational view of the rear guide roller supportshowing the hook and locating member for the stack;

FIGURE 10 is a side elevational view of the right hand end of themachine showing the driving means for the forward and rear guiderollers, and

FIGURE 11 is a circuit diagram showing the manner in which the spiralwire is used to actuate the feed stopping means.

Briefiy, the illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a pair ofelongated members of rectangular cross-sectional shape, these twomembers rotatably supporting a pair of guide rollers for a spiral wirebinder which issues from a coiling tool body. The two elongated membershave series of slots on their facing surfaces, the guide rollers beingso mounted that they are partially exposed by the slots. One guideroller support is fixed .l'ifildfid Patented Apr. 16, 1968 during useand the other is swingably mounted for movement between a retractedposition away from the first support and a clamping position adjacentthe first support. In the clamping position, the two fiat but slottedfacing surfaces of the guide roller supports will clamp a pack of sheetsand covers securely therebetween, just along the areas where this packhas perforations for the reception of a spiral wire binder. Means areprovided on the stationary guide roller support for preliminary mountingthe pack so that the perforations will form curved paths to receive thespiral as it is fed.

As the spiral wire is fed, it will pass into and out of successive slotsin the two guide roller supports, the spiral being driven by therotating guide rollers themselves. The pack will be held immobile bybeing gripped between, above and below the perforations. After the wireis fed through and cut, the swingable guide wire roller support will beretracted, releasing the pack.

The means for preliminary locating the pack comprises a hook mounted atone end of the tired guide roller support, and if desired, a locatingmember mounted at the other end of this support.

As another feature of the invention, switch means are mounted on thefired guide roller support and are contacted by the spiral wire as itcompletes its feeding movement. The spiral wire and the switch means aremounted in a circuit which will cause the wire feed to stop when thiscontact is made and carry out other actions forming the end of thecycle.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the machine is generallyindicated at 21 and comprises a frame generally indicated at 22 adaptedto rest on the floor. This frame has left hand and right hand uprightside plates 23 and 24 between which are disposed the main machinecomponents. These side plates are secured together by appropriate crossmembers such as the upper member 25, 7

indicated in FIGURE 1. A wire guide tube 26 is secured to the upperportion of frame 21 adjacent the left hand end thereof, this tube beinghorizontally disposed and adapted to guide a wire 27 that is fed from aspool (not shown) to the rear of the machine. A pulley 28 is secured toplate 23 forwardly of tube 26 and aligned therewith. From pulley 23 thewire is led downwardly toward a wire coiling tool 29*.

Coiling tool 29 is of conventional construction and need not bedescribed in detail. A number of interchangeable coiling tools areprovided for difierent spiral diameters, and the coiling tool isremovably mounted on a coiling tool body 31 by a knurled nut 32. Thecoiling tool has a mandrel surrounded by a slotted member, the wireentering the slotted member at the left hand end thereof, and beingcoiled by the mandrel, exiting at the right hand end of the tool in theform of a spiral wire which, as it turns, will pass successively througha series of holes in a package of sheets and covers 33 (FIGURES 2 and 9)which are held in alignment therewith by the novel means describedbelow.

Coiling tool body 31 is shown as being mounted on left hand side plate23 by an adjustable means, including an inclined slot 34- and anadjusting screw 35, so that it may be adjusted to different positionsfor different sizes of spiral wires. This adjusting means is shown anddescribed in greater detail in my copending application Ser. No.503,704, filed Oct. 23, 1965, and entitled, Spiral Binder ApplyingMachine.

The means for clamping pack 33 in position and guiding the spiral binderincludes a forward guide roller support member 36, a rear guide rollersupport member 37, a forward guide roller 33 rotatably mounted withinmember 36 and a rear guide roller 39 rotatably mounted within member 37(FIGURE 2).

Guide roller support members 36 and 37 are of elongated shape and haverectangular cross sections. Rear guide roller support member 37 ismounted on a platform 41 which extends between the left and right handside plates 23 and 24 (FIGURE 1). The left hand end of member 37 isadjacent the exit of coiling tool 29 and its right hand end is adjacentplate 24-. Preferably, member 37 is secured to support 41 by means (notshown) which permit horizontal adjustment of this member toward thefront or rear of the machine, and to the left and right.

Rear guide roller support 36 is mounted for swinging movement by arockable shaft 42 which is disposed above and parallel to coiling tool29, and extends between side plates 23 and 24 (FIGURE 1).

A sleeve 43 is fixedly mounted on shaft 42 and carries a pair of arms 44and 45 at opposite ends thereof, member 36 being secured to the outerends of these arms. Member 36 is swingable between a retracted positionshown in FIGURE 1, and a clamping position shown in FIGURE 2. In itsretracted position, the member 36 is spaced forwardly from member 37,giving sutiiv cient space for an operator to place the perforated edgeof a pack 33 against the forward face of member 37. When in its clampingposition, member 36 will engage pack 33, clamping it against member 37.

The means for actuating member 35 between its positions comprises ahelical coil tension spring 46 having one end secured to frame 22 andthe other end secured to an arm 47 on sleeve 43 (FIGURE 1). A screw 48is carried by a bracket 49 on arm 45, this screw being adjustable by ahandle 51 and being securable in position by a lock nut 52. Spring 46urges the rearward end of screw 48 against a cam 53 which is rotatableby means (not shown) in synchronism with the other parts of theapparatus. With cam 53 in its FIGURE 1 position, member 36 will be inits retracted position, but when cam 53 rotates, it will permit spring46 to pull member 36 to its clamping position.

A sleeve 54 is also secured to shaft 42 and carries an arm 55, at thelower end of which is a shoe 56 (FIG- URES 2 and 4). This shoe isdisposed over the exit of tool 29 and will, when in its operativeposition, prevent undue upward movement of the spiral wire as it leavesthe coiling tool.

The construction of guide roller supports 36 and 37 is shown in FIGURES5 through 8. Forward guide roller support 36 has a flat rearwardlyfacing surface 57 which is interrupted by a series of vertical slots 58along the entire length of the member. The depth of these slots is suchthat they communicate with a bore 59 extending through the member. Bore53 carries forward guide roller 38, as seen in FIGURE 2. This guideroller and guide roller 39 are adapted to drive the spiral wire as itpasses through the perforations in pack 33. Preferably, one or more flatareas 61 are provided on roller 38, and similar flat areas 62 areprovided on roller 39. The purpose of these flat areas is toperiodically relieve the forces on the spiral wire during its advancingmovement, thereby minimizing the possibility of the leading end of thewire snagging on the pack or otherwise encountering resistance due toinordinate frictional or other forces.

Roller 38 is rotatably supported by member 36, and is driven by a belt63, seen in FIGURE 10, through a pulley 64 mounted on the right hand endof roller 38 as one faces the machine. The diameter of shaft 38 is suchthat its outer surface does not extend beyond the rearwardly facingsurface 57 of member 36, so that surface 57 is permitted to engage pack33 along its entire area except where it is broken by slots 58.

Member 37 is shown in FIGURES 7 and 8, and, like member 36, extends fromthe exit of tool 29 toward the right hand end of the machine. Member 37comprises a flat forwardly facing surface 65 interrupted by a series ofvertical slots 66 along its entire length, but also interrupted by ahorizontal slot 67. Both slots 66 and 67 communicate with a bore 63which rotatably supports rear guide roller 39. Like the forward guideroller, the outer surface of the rear guide roller does not extendbeyond surface 65 so that this entire surface, except as interrupted byslots 66 and 67, may engage pack 33 for clamping purposes. A pulley 69is secured to the right hand end of roller 39, as one views the machinein FIGURE 1, and is driven by a belt 7-1. Belts 63 and 71 are driven bya gear '72 mounted above them at the right hand end of the machine(FIGURE 10), this gear in turn being driven by a gear 73.

The upper ends of slots 66 are flared in an upward direction asindicated at 74 in FIGURES 3 and 8. The purpose of these flaredentrances for slots 66 is to better receive the leading end of thespiral wire.

A hook shown in dot-dash lines at 75 is securable to the left hand endof rear guide roller support 37, as seen in FIGURE 8, this hook beingfor the purpose of supporting the left hand end of pack 33, as seen inFIGURE 9. A recess 76 is provided in the top of member 37 for mountingbook 75. A pack locating member or stop 77 may be provided near theright hand end of member 37, mounted on the top surface thereof andextending forwardly over the location of the pack, as seen in FIGURE 9.Clearance slots 78 are provided in stop 77 for the spiral wire. Thepurpose of member 77 is to locate the right hand end of a pack that isready for clamping. The operator first hangs the left hand end of thepack on book 75 by inserting the book through the left handperforations, and then swings the pack upwardly (counterclockwise inFIG- URE 1) until its right hand end engagesmember 77. This member wouldof course be adjusted to the left or right depending on the length ofthe stack of pages, and is contoured to cause the pack to conform to thespiral curvature. In other instances, the presence of member 77 may beeliminated and the operator may locate the stack in position forclamping merely by hanging the left hand end on book 75 and visuallyaligning the remainder of the pack with member 37.

The slots 58 and 66 of members 36 and 37 are sufiiciently deep to exposealmost one-half of rollers 38 and 39, so that these rollers mayeffectively engage the spiral wire.

In operation, members 36 and 37 will be adjusted axially (that is, tothe left or right in FIGURE 1) to accommodate the lead or pitch of thespiral wire, as determined by tool 29. Moreover, handle 51 will beadjusted to determine the clamping position of member 36 by moving screw48. Member 37 may also be adjusted forwardly or rearwardly for thispurpose.

The adjustment of member 36 may be accomplished by adjustably securingsleeve 33 on shaft 42. The axial and forward or rearward adjustment ofmember 37 may be accomplished by bolt-and-slot connections betweenmembers 37 and 41.

With member 36 in its retracted position, a pack 33 will be mounted onhook 75 and held in position against surface 57 of member 37, either byholding the right hand end of the pack up against stop 77 or by visualalignment. Cam 47 will then be rotated to permit spring 46 to swingmember 36 downwardly and rearwardly until it clamps pack 33 in position,those areas of the pack adjacent perforations 79 being clamped betweensurfaces 57 and 66 of members 36 and 37 respectively. When member '36swings down to its clamping position, member 56 will also swing down toits operative position, so as to limit upward movement of the spiral asit leaves tool 29.

-As the spiral wire issues from too] 29, it will be fed throughperforations 79 by the rapidly rotating rollers 38 and 39. The advancingspiral will pass through slots 58 to be engaged by roller 38 and throughslots 66 to be engaged by roller 39. In the illustrated embodiment, thespiral (which is indicated at 81 in FIGURES 2 and 3) will rotateclockwise in FIGURE 2 as shown by the arrow. This will mean that theleading end will enter flared entrances 74 and slots 66 to be engaged byroller 39, and

will leave perforations 79 to enter slots 58 and be engaged by roller38.

When spiral 81 has been fed to the entire pack 33, it will engage meanswhich will cause the feed to be stopped, in a manner described below.

At this point, while the book is still being clamped by members 36 and37, knife mechanisms 83 and 84. (FIG- URES 1 and 4) will operate tosever and properly crimp the opposite ends of spiral 81. A right handcrimped end is indicated at 85 in FIGURE 3, for illustrative purposes.However, the knife mechanism does not form part of the presentinvention, and therefore need not be described in detail. Cam 53 willthen again be rotated to lift member 36 and guide '56 to their retractedpositions, so that the bound pack 33 may be removed from the mechanism.

It will thus be seen that members 36 and 37 perform the multiplefunctions of rotatably supporting the guide rollers, locating the packin position for clamping, and actually clamping the pack in wide areasadjacent and on opposite sides of the row of perforations. Thearrangement may be easily adjusted for various sizes of spirals,utilizing if desired the adjustable feature of tool 29 described in theaforementioned copending application. The result will be faster loadingand unloading of the packs, more rapid feeding of the spiral, and lessdown time for adjustment or maintenance. This in turn will result inmuch higher production rates for producing spiral-bound packs ofperforated sheets and covers.

The means for causing the feed to be stopped comprises a contact 85secured to the top of the right-hand end of member 37, as seen inFIGURES 7 and 11. An insulating member 86 separates contact 85 frommember 37. The contact comprises a two-pronged member disposed aboveslots 66 and engageable by the leading turns of spiral 81 after it haspassed completely through pack 33. A wire 37 connects contact 85 with arelay 88 which in turn controls a brake and cycle control circuitschematically indicated at 89. This brake and cycle control circuit maybe of a conventional nature and need not be described in detail, but itwill serve to stop the feed of spiral 81 and carry out the remainingportions of the cycle. A source of electricity 91 is connected in serieswith relay 88 and, through ground, with spiral 81.

While it will be apparent that the embodiment of the invention hereindisclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects of the invention, itwill be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification,variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fairmeaning of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a spiral binder applying machine for packs of sheets each of whicha row of perforations, forward and rear guide rollers, forward and readguide roller supports, each of said supports comprising an elongatedmember within which its guide roller is rotatably supported, meansmounting said members in facing relation, the facing surfaces of saidmembers being flat and engageable with opposite sides of a pack ofperforated sheets in areas adjacent and on both sides of the row ofperforations, means for moving said members relative to each otherbetween retracted and clamping positions, a series of slots in thefacing surfaces of said members, said slots extending into said memberssufiiciently to expose said rollers, and means for rotating saidrollers, whereby a spiral wire will pass into and out of successiveslots in said members and .be advanced by said rollers.

2. The combination according to claim 1, said machine being furtherprovided with an upright frame, said rear support member beingstationarily mounted on said frame and said forward support member beingswingably mounted on a axis above said stationary support member formovement between retracted and clamping posit-ions.

3. The combination according to claim 2, further provided with a coilingtool, and an upper spiral wire limiting shoe mounted for swingingmovement with said forward support member between retracted and advancedpositions, said shoe when in its advanced position being above the exitend of said tool to limit upward movement of the spiral wire.

4. The combination according to claim 2, further provided with a hooksecured to one end of said stationary support and adapted to enter theperforations at one end of a pack of sheets to be bound.

5. The combination according to claim 4, further provided with acontoured locating stop mounted at the other end of said stationarysupport, whereby a pack supported at one end by said hook may be swungupwardly into engagement with said locating stop and its perforated edgecontoured to conform to the curvature of said spiral wire, the stophaving clearance slots for said spiral wire.

6. The combination according to claim 2, further provided withadjustable means for actuating said movable support member between itsretracted and clamping positions, said adjustable means including arotatable cam and a member of adjustable length connected to saidswingable support and engageable with said cam.

7. The combination according to claim 1, the slots in one support memberbeing flared at one end thereof, whereby the leading end of a spiralWire will be guided into said slots.

8. The combination according to claim 1, further provided with a contactmounted on one of said members above the slots thereof and engageable bysaid spiral wire after it has passed through the perforations 'in a packof sheets, a brake and cycle control circuit for said machine, and arelay connected to said contact and controlling said brake and cyclecontrol circuit to stop the feed of said spiral wire in response toengagement of said contact by the spiral wire.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 673,588 5/1901 Templin 92.932,177,054 10/1939 Catini 14092.93 2,961,012 11/1960 Freundlich 140-9293CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner.

L. A. LARSON, Assistant Examiner.

1. IN A SPIRAL BINDER APPLYING MACHINE FOR PACKS OF SHEETS EACH OF WHICHA ROW OF PERFORATIONS, FORWARD AND REAR GUIDE ROLLERS, FORWARD AND READGUIDE ROLLER SUPPORTS, EACH OF SAID SUPPORTS COMPRISING AN ELONGATEDMEMBER WITHIN WHICH ITS GUIDE ROLLER IS ROTATABLY SUPPORTED, MEANSMOUNTING SAID MEMBERS IN FACING RELATION, THE FACING SURFACES OF SAIDMEMBERS BEING FLAT AND ENGAGEABLE WITH OPPOSITE SIDES OF A PACK OFPERFORATED SHEETS IN AREAS ADJACENT AND ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ROW OFPERFORATIONS, MEANS FOR MOVING SAID MEMBERS RELATIVE TO EACH OTHERBETWEEN RETRACTED AND CLAMPING POSITIONS, A SERIES OF SLOTS IN THEFACING SURFACES OF SAID MEMBERS, SAID SLOTS EXTENDING INTO SAID MEMBERSSUFFICIENTLY TO EXPOSE SAID ROLLERS, AND MEANS FOR ROTATING SAIDROLLERS, WHEREBY A SPIRAL WIRE WILL PASS INTO AND OUT OF SUCCESSIVESLOTS IN SAID MEMBERS AND BE ADVANCED BY SAID ROLLERS.